Small lizard in Oregon forest

[rjlittlefield]

This little fellow was living in deep shade in the forest, at the Natural Bridge area of the Rogue River near Prospect, Oregon.

I've lived my whole life in Washington state, and I'm always fascinated by how differently critters act in other places. The lizards I'm used to are flighty things -- you're lucky to get a good look at one, let alone a picture. But this little fellow stood stock still for a minute or more while I squizzled around for a good angle and a closer position. I know, it's nothing to compare with Mike Broderick's 2 hours (!) for his Chuckwalla photo, but still, it's a lot more than the second or two that I'm used to!

Body length about 5". I had to crop half the tail to get enough detail on the head -- tradeoffs, tradeoffs.

--Rik

Natural light, Canon Digital Rebel, Sigma 18-125mm at 125, handheld 1/50 sec at f/9.0, ISO 400, crop to about 50% in width.

[paul]

What a lovely little fellow! They always seem to have a smile on their face. And this one has a fine catchlight in the eye, too.

There are some skinks around where I live, mostly I see them in the bills of the kingfishers. We also have some nocturnal geckos, but I have not encountered those yet.

Nice image, Rik, and nicely framed, like the pano format.

[Ken Ramos]

I have lizards somewhat similar around the house here. They are quite cooperative if you don't make any sudden or fast moves around them. Great shot!

[beetleman]

They probably think you don`t see them. I wish we had some lizards up here in NH...not a one! Plenty of salamanders & snakes but no lizards Great photo Rik!